


I'm Not Moving

by Rehearsal_Dweller



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Not Hunters, M/M, Practically a coffeeshop AU but really really not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-29
Updated: 2013-05-31
Packaged: 2017-12-13 07:26:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/821610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rehearsal_Dweller/pseuds/Rehearsal_Dweller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a long relationship ends with a blowout fight, Dean Winchester wakes up staring down the rest of his life.<br/>It doesn't take long to realise he's unlikely to Ever get over Castiel Shurley.<br/>He takes to haunting the place where they met, hoping that Cas will walk back into his life someday.<br/>And That is how Dean comes to own the Heaven Cafe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Goin' Back to the Corner

**Author's Note:**

> I was hit over the head by inspiration in the car the other day. Straight No Chaser's version of "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" came up on our travel playlist, and... this happened. After a fashion.  
> It's a work in progress, but I like where it's going. I hope you do, too.

Dean woke up the next morning and for half a second he didn’t remember why the other half of the bed was so cold. Did Cas have an early appointment or something today?

And then it hit him.

He kept his eyes squeezed shut for a minute, trying to will it to not have happened, wishing desperately that when he opened them Cas would be standing in the doorway about to reprimand him for sleeping in.

The reprimand never came, and eventually Dean had to accept that it wasn’t coming and open his eyes. The clock on the bedside table read 10:30AM; sunlight was streaming in through the windows. _Shit_. He was two hours late for work and he hadn’t showered or dressed and he didn’t exactly live walking distance from the garage. He reached blindly for the phone that should have been on his sidetable while continuing to stare blankly at the ceiling.

Should have been was a key word, there. The lack of a phone was what forced Dean to actually sit up and look around the room. He spotted it, sitting face down on the floor under a dent in the wall. He winced, fairly certain he remembered hearing the screen crack – although to be fair it could have just been the sound of the phone hitting drywall.

He stood up, crossed the room, and picked up the phone. Sure enough, there was a brand new crack across the already damaged screen. On pressing the home button, Dean discovered that he’d missed six phone calls from Sam (two voicemails), two texts from Jess, and one text from Bobby.

 _Nothing from Cas_. Not that he was expecting it, not really.

Dean sighed. Bobby’s text first.

**_Bobby Singer:_ ** _Sam called, asking about you. Told me what happened. Don’t bother coming in today, Jo and I will be fine without you._

Dean wasn’t sure whether he was grateful for the day off or not, but he was definitely annoyed with Sam for sticking his nose into things.

**_You:_ ** _Thanks, Bobby. I’ll be okay for tomorrow._

He checked the messages from Jess next.

**_Jess Moore:_ ** _Sam told me what happened. Are you okay?_

**_Jess Moore:_ ** _Are you ignoring Sam’s calls? He’s worried about you._

Dean sighed, shaking his head. Leave it to Sam to get his girlfriend involved, too.

**_You:_ ** _I’m fine, Jess. And I’m not ignoring Sammy, I fell asleep._

Now, that wasn’t quite true, but Jess (and by extension Sam) did not need to know that. He’d fallen asleep to his phone ringing and ringing and ringing.

He braced himself – the voicemails now.

“ _Dean! You can’t just hang up on me like that! You’re a wreck, I can tell. And even if I couldn’t tell, I would know, because Cas is the best thing that’s ever happened to you and –“_

Message deleted.

_“I called Bobby to see if you’d gone in to work yet and he said you weren’t there. I told him about the fight when he said you hadn’t even called in. I don’t think he’s expecting you there. ... Look, Dean, you’re gonna have to face this at some point and – just know you can always call me, okay? I’ll talk to you later.”_

Dean did _not_ want to call Sam. And actually, he’d prefer to go to work than sit around here in the empty house all day.

Empty.

On that note, was Cas going to show up sometime this week – _today? –_ looking to gather up his belongings?

Dean shuddered at the thought and promptly collapsed right back into bed.

 _If I don’t **have** to do anything, I’m not going to try. Not ‘till tomorrow_.

And if he was lucky, this was all a nightmare anyway. He’d wake up – like always – to Cas holding him tight and whispering “It’s okay, Dean. You’re safe, I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

\--

It took three weeks before Dean was even starting to get back to normal. He’d started going to work again the day after, just like he’d said, but he hadn’t been quite himself. He knew the others could tell, but when they approached him about it, he wouldn’t acknowledge it.

Three weeks later and he finally felt okay enough to go back to Heaven.

The Heaven Cafe was at the corner of two major streets. It was owned by some guy who was never actually around and run by the manager, a guy named Michael. It was Dean’s favourite place to go for breakfast. Or Lunch. And sometimes also dinner (although usually not all in one day). Actually, usually he only stopped in once or twice a week.

He’d met Cas there. Cas was friends with the baker, Gabriel, from college. Dean was friends with Gabriel from sitting at the counter at Heaven and talking to him. One day, he’d walked in and this new guy with dark hair was in his usual spot. So he’d sat down next to the guy, right about to say something about it, but Gabriel had turned his attention to Dean and so had the new guy. It turned out that New Guy had approximately the bluest eyes on the planet.

“This is Dean,” Gabriel said. “He’s that regular I’m always tellin’ you about, with the hot little brother.”

“Gabriel, I’m sure Dean does not want to hear about how attractive you consider his younger brother,” New Guy replied. To Dean, he said, “My name is Castiel.”

Needless to say, he’d kind of been avoiding Heaven since Cas walked out. But now, finally, he thought he might be starting to move on a little bit, and he pushed open the familiar door.

“Hey, Dean-o, where you been?” asked Gabriel, who was (as usual) _not_ in the kitchen baking, but leaning on the counter and talking to a customer. The customer turned around to look at him, too, and with a jolt Dean realised that she was one of Cas’s patients, one he’d met before. Her name was Nat, and she’d gone mute after her parents died. Cas had been helping her to find her voice again. Dean wondered idly whether she’d seen him more recently than Dean had or if Cas had really left town like he’d shouted that he would.

“Dean?” Nat said. She didn’t talk much, but it was a lot more than not at all. Cas had been so proud.

“I – uh... Cas... hasn’t been around lately. And, y’know, it’s been a while since I came here on my own. S’a little weird,” replied Dean, crossing the room to sit down next to Nat. She frowned and signed something. Dean could usually follow ASL enough to get by, but her hands were flying a little bit too fast for him to keep up. He sighed. “Tali, slow down.”

“Yeah, Tosh, don’cha know that Dean here is too dumb to keep up when you talk like that?” added Gabriel.

Nat smirked and Dean glared at Gabriel. She repeated, slower, “ _Is that why my therapist is changing?”_ (or, y’know, what roughly comes out to that).

That hit Dean like a physical blow. If Cas was planning to come back, not just to disappear for a few weeks with his family out of town, he’d have just taken a few weeks off work. They wouldn’t be setting his patients up with someone else. “Yeah, Tali. That’s probably why.”

“ _I’m sorry_ ,” Nat signed. She patted him on the shoulder and walked out of Heaven.

“Dean, _what happened_?” Gabriel asked seriously. “You haven’t been here in three weeks, and then you show up alone. Don’t think I didn’t notice that Cas hasn’t been answering anyone’s calls. You fucked up, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” muttered Dean, “I did. But I’m not gonna tell you about it, and you’re not gonna ask about it anymore if you know what’s good for you.”

“Okay, okay,” replied Gabriel. “I’ll back off. But if I get one more call from Sam about you...”

Dean groaned. “He’s been calling you, too?”

“You could always answer your phone,” Gabriel pointed out. “Honestly, you’re as bad as Cas.”

Dean didn’t answer.

\--

After that, Dean went back to hanging around Heaven in his free time.

Actually, he took to haunting the place a lot more than he had before. He figured, not entirely consciously, that if Cas was going to come back to town, this would be his first stop. And if/when that ever happened, Dean wanted to be there.

To apologise, if nothing else.

Weeks turned into months, months into a year. Dean kept working at Bobby’s garage, but he spent more and more of his evenings at Heaven rather than the Roadhouse, which was owned by his coworker’s mother.

One evening, Michael approached Dean. “Heaven’s going on sale, Mr Winchester.”

“Wh- really?” asked Dean. “Why?”

Michael shrugged. “The owner doesn’t want to keep maintaining it, I think.”

“Why are you telling _me_ this?”

“I thought you might be... interested.”

And that was why, about a month later, he left Sam the following voicemail.

 _“Sammy, it’s done. And yeah, it might’ve been kind of impulsive and stupid, but I don’t care. I bought the Heaven Cafe. Everything finished today. As of tomorrow I no longer work at Bobby’s place, I’m the owner of Heaven. You and Jess should come check it out once I’ve got the hang of things around here. I’m keeping whatever staff wants to stay, so it shouldn’t be that bad. I know you’re gonna give me that_ look _for this, but I think it’s a good thing. I’m moving forward, Sam. Not moving on, but moving forward, at least. See you around.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to use all Supernatural characters for this story, but you might have noticed that I didn't quite manage that. Natasha - Nat, that is - is serving a purpose within the story that I couldn't really find an appropriate SPN character for. Don't fret, though, if you're not really into OCs in stories. She hangs around through the rest of the story, but she's just there to fill in the backstory and such. No worries.  
> (Unless you like her, in which case: no worries, she hangs around!)


	2. Got Your Picture In My Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life goes on, and Dean gets used to running a restaurant.

For all that Dean was trying to move on with his life, a little bit of him – well, a very large bit, if he was going to be completely honest – was still hoping that Cas was going to come back. To that end, there was a framed photo of Cas next to the door over a sign that read “THIS IS CAS SHURLEY. IF YOU SEE HIM, TELL HIM DEAN’S WAITING FOR HIM AT HEAVEN.”

Nobody had done so, or at least if they had Cas hadn’t shown up, but it was worth a try. Plus, as a gimmick, it was pretty effective. It’s the kind of thing people don’t quite believe – mostly because they don’t know the story. The people who did didn’t share it.

Sam and Jess had moved and now lived fairly close to both Dean’s place and Heaven, which was nice. Sam had made a habit of stopping in after work once or twice a week and humouring Gabriel (who, for all his talk, was campaigning behind the scenes for Jess and Sam to get married).

Things were going well, relatively, even if they _had_ lost Ruby – an excellent chef – to their rival (Luke’s Diner, three streets over, run by a British guy named Crowley) as soon as Sam started visiting regularly.

It was a month or two after Dean bought Heaven that Meg, one of Cas’s former co-workers, caught him singing under his breath as he wiped down tables.

“Cas was always going on about a songbird,” she commented. “Don’t suppose it was actually you?”

Dean shrugged. “To be honest, he didn’t hear me sing much.”

“His loss,” Meg said. “You ought to share that voice with the world, since you’re depriving all of us of our Castiel.”

“I’m not –“

“You’re why he left, aren’t you?” Meg said coldly.

Dean flinched. “Finish up and get out, Meg.”

“Alright, alright,” replied Meg. “Just a thought.”

And that was what spawned Thursday night Open Mic – not that Dean would ever admit that it was Meg who gave him the idea.

He kicked off the first one with a smile and a “Hi, I’m Dean, the owner of the Heaven Cafe. I know most of you personally, and if I don’t, feel free to introduce yourselves after the song. I’m starting us off with a song that’s become almost depressingly representative of my life lately.” He forced a laugh and started playing his guitar. “ _M’goin’ back to the corner where I first saw you...”_

\--

Thursday Night Open Mic quickly became unofficially known as Heartbreak Night. People from all over town would pop in and commiserate over lost loves and sing or listen to other people sing about the same.

“You kind of brought it on yourself, Dean-o,” Gabriel pointed out, gesturing to the framed photograph of Cas that still hung next to the door.

Dean shrugged. “It’s not so bad, really. People need an outlet. Hell, _I_ need an outlet.”

“Aw, Dean, I thought _we_ were your outlet,” Gabriel replied, grinning.

“This whole place is, and you know that,” said Dean.

Ruby started in on a pretty impressive rendition of Adele’s “Someone Like You” just then. Dean glanced up just in time to see Sam duck out the door, looking uncomfortable. Sam and Jess had made a habit of showing up for Hearbreak Night for separate reasons – Jess liked hearing everyone sing with all of the emotion that only something like this could bring out, and Sam needed to be on hand to give his legendary bear hugs to anyone who came out of their performance sobbing. That said, Sam had a history with Ruby and it had been something of a dark time for him. They didn’t talk about it. Needless to say, Sam wasn’t about to offer Ruby a hug when she finished her song.

Jess slid into the seat next to Dean’s. “Her song choice this week is much more mature than last week’s.”

“I’m pretty impressed she got from Taylor Swift to Adele in a week, too,” agreed Gabriel.

Dean shrugged again. “It’s hard to stay mad when _Jessie_ here is your competition.” He patted Jess on the shoulder. “I reckon she’d never actually met you before last week’s, right?”

“You’re right, you flatterer you,” responded Jess, laughing.

Things were getting easier for Dean. He’d packed up some of Cas’s things, put them in boxes in case he ever came back for them.

He didn’t.

One day, on a Heartbreak Night, Nat sat down across the counter from where Dean was working. “Hey Dean, you hiring?”

It took him a minute to process the fact that _Tali just asked for a job. Out loud._ “Ah, yeah,” he said when he’d collected himself, “but it’s a waitressing job. You up for it?”

She nodded. “Cas always said I should push myself. And if I’ve got employment, I get my brother back.”

Dean smiled. “Yeah, I know how that is,” he said, thinking back to his college years, when he’d been fighting to keep Sammy and working three jobs. “Cas has been gone for a while now, though. Why -?”

“Meg isn’t as good at motivation,” Nat answered simply, shrugging.

“I’ll give you that,” replied Dean. “Come in this weekend, I’ll have Adam and Krissy train you.”

“Thank you, Dean,” Nat said, signing as she spoke.

“ _You’re welcome,”_ Dean signed back. Nat smiled.

\--

It was easy.

Well, running the damn cafe wasn’t, and neither was coordinating the weekly Heartbreak Nights, both of those things were as complex and overwhelming as they could possibly manage to be. But something about life since buying Heaven was... _easier_.

Because when it came down to it, Heaven – with its photo of Cas on the wall and Gabriel in the back with the kids in front – felt more like home for Dean than the house did nowadays.

Nobody had heard from Cas since just after he walked out.

_Nobody_.

He’d just called in his resignation and disappeared. Never even stopped back in at home for this things.

It was like he’d dropped off the face of the earth.

On the whole, though, Dean tried not to think about it, because honestly things were good. Heaven was even starting to catch the attention of some of the town’s foodies.

(Dean would never admit it to anybody, but he was really enjoying improving the menu. He happily left the baked goods to Gabriel, who relished in surprising the customers – and the waiters, when they were good – with new treats. But every new savoury item on the menu was Dean’s doing, and people were loving it.)

And then Heaven started to attract the attention of people from out of town.

Dean pretended that he wasn’t wishing for Cas to see one of the articles, even when Sam asked him directly and Krissy and Nat hinted their wonderings on the matter. He pretended that from the moment he walked through Heaven’s door at 5am to the moment he walked out at 11pm.

At home, he’d stare at various reviews of the Heaven Cafe and wonder (hope) that maybe someday Cas would notice that this little cafe in the town he’d lived in for nearly five years was becoming well known for the photo of him on the wall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the third chapter almost finished and the fourth will likely be finished or almost finished by the time I post that one. I hope you're enjoying the story so far!


	3. An' Maybe I'll Get Famous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heaven gets some well-deserved media attention.

The media attention for Heaven was growing.

One day in May, a woman in her thirties walked into Heaven dragging a scruffy-looking guy behind her.

“Hey, can I help you find a seat?” Adam greeted dutifully. Dean grinned, glancing up from the sandwich he was putting together. It had taken a lot of training to get the waiters to actually greet the customers (all three of them had started since Dean bought the place).

“Yeah,” the woman replied, “a place at the counter would be great, if possible?”

“No problem,” said Adam. “I’m Adam, by the way, I’ll be serving you.”

“I’m Becky Rosen,” the woman said. “I’m a food writer. And this is Chuck, he’s a hungry novelist.”

Chuck chuckled. “Something like that.”

Adam led them to Dean’s favourite spot at the counter and handed them menus. “I’ll come back around in a few minutes to take your orders.”

Dean finished what he was making and handed it off to Krissy. He walked over to where Becky and Chuck. “Hey,” he greeted. “I’m Dean Winchester, the owner. Who d’you write for?”

“Actually I’m here as a scout for the Food Network,” answered Becky. “People have been writing in about Heaven for one of our travelling restaurant shows. It’s my job to come check it out.”

“Oh,” Dean replied, startled. “Well maybe you shoulda come on a Thursday.”

“It _is_ Thursday,” Chuck pointed out.

“Oh,” repeated Dean. “I meant – we do this thing on Thursday nights –“ he gestured to the mic and speakers that Nat was setting up in the space they’d cleared near the far wall, “open mic night, y’know? People come for that as much as the food.”

Becky smiled and wrote down a note on a notepad she’d pulled out of her purse. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. For now we’ll stick to eating, though.”

“Cool,” Dean replied. “Shout if you need anything.”

And with that, he went back to doing his actual job. It occurred to him that Chuck looked kind of familiar, but for the life of him Dean couldn’t place where from. He figured it was probably some food thing or maybe the back cover of a novel he’d read and didn’t give it another thought.

\--

Garth Fitzgerald’s show – the name of which Dean didn’t catch - came on a Thursday. Dean made sure that Gabriel was on his best behaviour (read: wasn’t planning on setting a practical joke on the camera crew) and that the kids looked presentable. The plan was for Garth and the crew to spend the day filming in the kitchen and interviewing customers and then to get some video of Heartbreak Night that evening.

It was weird to work with a bunch of cameras watching him and this stringy-looking guy asking him questions about the most popular dishes, and Dean had had to force Gabriel to help cook actual food today and not just make desserts and then lounge about and talk to customers all day like he usually did in order to keep the restaurant in proper operation. That said, it was kind of cool. And it was awesome that Heaven was getting all this attention.

Gabriel took over when it came time to show of Heaven’s signature desserts (which he was very well suited for, as he had a naturally enthusiastic personality). Dean watched quietly from his place on the other side of the counter (their kitchen really wasn’t big enough for as many people as it currently held).

Dean had kind of lost track of the time listening to various regulars sing Heaven’s praises. He hardly even noticed when Garth slid into the seat next to him.

“Hey, Dean, would you mind explaining the story behind your takeover of Heaven for the cameras?” he asked. “I did an intro bit outside earlier, but I don’t think I really did it justice. I’d love to include your take on the whole thing.”

“Uh, sure,” replied Dean.

“We could do it over by the door, next to the picture,” Garth suggested.

Dean nodded, suddenly a little bit uncomfortable but not so much that he’d change his mind.

That night at Heartbreak Night, Gabriel and the kids convinced Dean that he should sing. He usually only did that every few weeks, because he had yet to do anything but the one song.

He noticed, before he started, that Becky and Chuck were back.

“I’m Dean Winchester,” he started as usual, “and if you’re here and don’t know what I’m singing, you’ve never been to Heartbreak Night before.”

\--

The night that their episode of Garth’s show was set to air, Heaven closed early.

Dean had organised a little party. Sam and Jess were over, and so were Bobby and Jo and Ellen. They were only waiting for Dean’s employees. Sam had everything set up in the living room – snacks, extra seating, the works.

The doorbell rang. Dean ran to let in the kids and Gabriel, only to find that Gabriel wasn’t actually with them. The girls went to walk past him and into the house, but Dean held up a hand.

“Hold up, kids, where’s Gabriel?” he asked.

“Dean, you’re no more than ten years older than me. That’s hardly a big enough age gap to justify calling us ‘kids,’” Nat pointed out.

“You’re, like, twenty though, which does justify it,” Dean retorted.

“We know as well as you do that you’re _thirty-five_ , old man,” Krissy jumped in.

Before Dean could answer, they’d ducked around him and walked into the house, giggling.

“Did she just –“ began Dean.

Adam put his hand on Dean’s shoulder. “You brought that on yourself, Dean.”

Just then, Gabriel’s car pulled up and he jumped out. “Let’s go watch ourselves on TV!”

It turned out that the show was called _Local Colour_ and was known for choosing restaurants that were well known and loved in their communities. Apparently a _lot_ of people had written in about Heaven.

They were the third segment on the show, which meant that they were closing out the episode.

“This next place has a pretty sweet story behind it,” Garth introduced. “But I’ll leave that to the guys inside to tell. All you need to hear from me is that since the current owner bought the place a year ago, the Heaven Cafe’s been more popular than ever.”

And then there was a shot of the outside of the restaurant that cut to Dean and Garth inside, near the framed photo of Cas. “This is Dean Winchester, owner of the Heaven Cafe. Dean, would’ja tell us the story behind how you came to own Heaven?”

“I’ve been livin’ in town for years now,” Dean said, “and comin’ to Heaven just as long. And a few years back – goin’ on seven now – Gabriel, the baker, introduced me to this guy named Cas.” He gestured to the photo on the wall. “We met here, used to come here together all the time. He, ah, left almost two years ago. But I kept comin’ to Heaven, and when it went on sale the manager made sure I was the first to know. I’ve always kind of thought that if Cas ever found his way back into town, he’d come here first. So I’m not moving any time soon.”

Jess nudged the real Dean, smiling. “That’s sweet, Dean.”

Dean shrugged. “It’s true. Look, now we’re cooking.”

He was right. After Dean’s little story, the show cut to Dean and Garth in the kitchen, then Gabriel and Garth.

“Ooh, I should’ve gone into television,” Gabriel said. “I look _good_ on screen.”

“You’d be a menace,” Sam said.

“You bet,” agreed Gabriel, grinning.

There were some interviews with regulars after that, and a clip of Krissy and Nat talking while on a break. Or rather, Krissy was talking and Nat’s hands were flying.

“Oh, that was after they tried to interview me the first time,” Nat said. “I choked. They did Krissy then instead, caught me later.”

Sure enough, the next clips were short interviews with the kids: first Adam, then Krissy, then Nat.

The episode ended with Garth talking about their weekly Open Mic Nights and a clip of Dean singing.

Afterwards, everyone stood up and stretched and wandered about a little. Dean came across Adam staring at a family portrait of Cas’s that Dean hadn’t had the heart to put away.

“Isn’t that that that Chuck guy who was at Heaven with Becky?” Adam asked, pointing to Cas’s older brother.

“No way,” Dean said. He looked closer. “ _No way_.”

“It totally is,” Adam declared.

“What’d Becky say he was again?” Gabriel asked.

“A hungry novelist,” answered Adam.

“Cas’s oldest brother is a novelist,” Gabriel told them. “He writes under a pseudonym, but his real name is –“

“Chuck Shurley,” finished Dean, still staring at the photo. “Chuck Shurley was _in Heaven_ and I didn’t even – he probably knows where Cas is, Gabe.”

“And if Cas doesn’t want to come back on his own, that’s his loss,” Sam pointed out. “It’s been two years, Dean. By now you should know that there’s no forcing this.”


	4. How Can I Move On When I'm Still In Love With You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heartbreak Night, nearly exactly two years after Cas left. Dean is pondering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WAS SO ENTHUSED ABOUT THE ENDING OF THIS STORY THAT I COULDN'T EVEN WAIT A DAY TO POST IT LIKE I DID FOR CHAPTER THREE  
> I HOPE YOU LIKE IT AS WELL AS I DO  
> TO THE TWO DEAR PEOPLE WHO COMMENTED ON CHAPTER TWO WONDERING WHAT DEAN DID: YOU GET TO LEARN. THE WHOLE THING KIND OF MAKES ME SAD.  
> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH  
> ...  
> thank you, enjoy yourself reading! I'm sorry that I screamed at you in my excitement!

Business was booming after the TV appearance. There had been some backlash from the less open-minded communities (people had actually come from other states to protest Dean’s ‘lifestyle’ – although as Jess pointed out, being so faithful to someone that you’ve not even thought of a relationship even two years after they’ve left is hardly a lifestyle worth protesting), but most of the attention had been positive.

Heartbreak Nights got more talent than ever, although fortunately nobody dared break the tradition of singing about their lost loves.

Dean was especially proud – not to mention very, very amused – the day his girls stood up and sang a very pointed rendition of Taylor Swift’s “We are never, ever, ever getting back together” to the guy who’d been borderline stalking Nat for the last three weeks. (Who was promptly escorted off the premises by Sam and Adam to drive the message home). Nat had even done the lead singing part!

As soon as that thought crossed Dean’s mind, he paused. _When, exactly, did they become ‘my girls’?_ He’d been somewhat aware for a while now that his staff was very close, and he’d pulled them there, but when the shift was from “the kids” to “my kids” (y’know, his kids in the sense of like... siblings or something. Not his children, that would be weird. And Tali was right, he’s only about ten years older). And Gabriel was just Gabriel.

He sat at the counter with Sam and Jess, as usual. Mentally, though, he was... drifting.

This whole Heartbreak Night thing had started with Dean singing to Cas. Hell, this whole restaurant owning thing was because of Cas. But Dean was starting to lose hope that Cas would ever come back to Lawrence. If he was going to, he would have done so already.

“Dean?” Adam asked, sitting down next to him. “Are you okay?”

“Wh- yeah,” Dean answered quickly. A mite too quickly, probably. Adam raised his eyebrows. “Actually... no.”

Sam sat down on Dean’s other side. “What’s eating you, man?”

“What if Cas isn’t coming back?” asked Dean.

Sam threw his arm around him. “Well then you’ve got us.”

“Yeah, Dean,” agreed Adam. “Whether Cas comes back or not, you’re stuck with us. The girls and Gabe are family now, too, and family’s permanent.”

_“What is this about, Dean?” Cas shouted. “Is this some... some... some permanence thing? Because we’ve been together for five years, and if you’re still thinking that this is temporary then I probably should have walked out that door years ago!”_

“Right, yeah,” Dean mumbled. “Permanent.”

_“No, Cas, it’s not –“_

_“It’s not_ what _, Dean? Give me one good explanation – any one thing and I’ll take it.”_

_“I was scared, okay?”_

_“And you think I’m not?” Cas stood up, then. “I asked you to_ marry _me, Dean! And I know you better than anyone besides Sam, I_ know _you’re scared. That’s no excuse!”_

_“I didn’t mean to –“_

_“Oh, that’s rich. So it was an accident, then?”_

_“Cas, I –“_

_“You_ cheatedon me _, Dean!”_

Dean winced. _Maybe Cas shouldn’t come back._ He watched without really seeing as Gabriel cooked and the girls wandered the restaurant.

“ _I don’t care that you were drunk or scared or whatever other stupid excuse you’re gonna come up with. How am I supposed to trust you after this, Dean?”_

_“... you aren’t.”_

Maybe that was the point all along. Maybe he’d been... been trying to drive Cas away.

Only would he still be this broken up about Cas leaving if he had?

Dean shook his head, trying to rid his mind of thoughts of Cas.

“Hey, Dean!” Krissy called. “It’s your turn!”

Dean stood up and crossed the room, scooping up his guitar from where it was resting against the wall.

“Hey everybody,” he greeted. “I’m Dean, and I’m hopelessly in love with a guy who I don’t deserve who left me two years ago.” He pointed to the photo of Cas. He let his arm fall by his side and just sat there for a moment before he started playing. “ _Goin’ back to the corner where I first saw you...”_

_He sat with Castiel at Heaven’s counter, talking for hours and more or less ignoring Gabriel._

_“It’s getting late,” Castiel said, checking his watch. He stood up to leave._

_“Can I have your phone number?” Dean blurted. Castiel smiled and held out his hand for Dean’s phone. He pulled it out and, as quickly as possible, opened up a new contact before handing it over to Castiel. “Thanks.”_

“... _got some words on cardboard, got your picture in my hand...”_ Dean continued, trusting his staff to keep things running as he lost himself in the song.

_“This is ridiculous,” Gabriel said._

_Dean shrugged. “Y’never know. It might work.”_

_They stepped back, admiring Dean’s handiwork. A framed photo of Castiel Shurley now hung on the wall next to Heaven’s door, along with a ~~desperate~~ plea for patrons to keep an eye out for him._

Dean smiled to himself. _“...An’ Maybe I’ll get famous as the man who can’t be moved – maybe you won’t mean to, but you’ll see me on the news. And you’ll come runnin’ to the corner, ‘cause you know it’s just for you...”_

Heaven’s door opened. It was a familiar sound, Dean barely registered it.

“...’ _Cause if one day you wake up and find that you’re missing me_

_And you’re heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be...”_

Somebody dropped an armful of plates. Dean didn’t stop, certain that one of the other kids or Gabriel could handle it.

“ _M’thinkin’ maybe you’ll come back to the place where we’d meet,_

_And you’ll see me waitin’ for you on the corner of the street_

_So I’m not movin’ –“_

“DEAN!” Nat called, voice shaking.

He looked up.

There, in front of his stunned staff, was the one person that Dean had never dared expect for a Heartbreak Night.

He almost dropped his guitar.

“Cas?”


	5. You Know It's Just for You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The overwhelming response to chapter four thus far has been: SERIOUSLY? HOW DARE YOU STOP THERE?  
> And so my project of the last day and a half or so has been writing this. It spans the entire course of the story, from just after Cas left to just after Dean's account ends ("Cas?"). Hopefully it will be sufficient?  
> Oh, and by the way: It's from Cas's POV.

It happened like this:

First he was angry.

He was angry for weeks – months, even – after it happen. He felt _betrayed_. In fact, he **was** betrayed. No subjective feelings about it.

And not just by Dean, either. He was the first and most angering of the offenders, but he was by no means alone.

 _Gabriel fucking Milton_ was a contributor as well.

And he was growing more and more annoyed by the text messages and phone calls from both of the above, not to mention the above’s brother (or in the second’s case, unrequited love interest) and the brother’s girlfriend, _and_ basically everybody else he’d ever interacted with in the entire time he’d lived in Lawrence. Hell, even Anthony Crowley had given him a call or seven.

That Dean had cheated was plenty – even if it _had_ just been the once, it had utterly shattered Cas’s trust – but Gabriel was Cas’s best friend and frankly it didn’t matter _how_ drunk they’d been.

So he was angry.

Second he was embarrassed.

He woke up one morning and he knew, he _knew_ that it had all been blown out of proportion. It was a few months into his somewhat pathetic living with various family members (first Alfie, then Jesse and their parents, then Chuck and Becky, then cousin Tessa, then Naomi, then his friend Charlie Bradbury just for the hell of it, and now Jesse and their parents again), and he sat in his childhood bedroom and stared at the photo of himself and Dean that hung on the wall for a few hours.

Sometime around midday, his mother tapped on the door. “Castiel? Are you alright?”

 _No point lying_ , he thought, _Mom always knows._ “Not really, no.”

The door opened and his mother entered the room and sat down next to him on the bed. “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve made a huge mistake,” Cas said. He closed his eyes, willing away the tears that had formed when he echoed Dean from all those months ago.

“Dean?”

“Yeah.” Cas opened his eyes again, staring at the photo again. “I blew the whole thing out of proportion, I know it now. I mean, yeah, he screwed up big time, but... he _told_ me. Came in the next morning and told me what happened and then I still blew up and I ran out. I wouldn’t even hear him out, I think he had more he wanted to say. And I – Mom, I _miss him_. He screwed up, yeah, but he loved me and I loved him – love him.”

“You could go back,” his mother suggested.

Cas shook his head. “I couldn’t. They won’t want me back there. If for no other reason than that I hurt Dean and ignored them all for months.”

“But they’ve spent those months trying to get hold of you,” she pointed out.

“They stopped.”

“So just because your friends have decided to finally respect the space you clearly want and you take it to mean that they don’t care anymore? Castiel Zachariah Shurley, you find some sense or I will knock it into you!”

“I can’t go back, Mama.” He sighed. She wrapped her arms around him. “I made a huge scene, I severed ties... I can’t just go crawling back.

“It’ll work out, angel,” she said. “I know it will.”

Third he was sad.

He tried to carry on, but it was a little strange. He never quite settled anywhere, choosing still to spend time with his siblings, cousins, and friends who didn’t live anywhere near Lawrence, Kansas.

It had been over a year now, and Cas was visiting Chuck and Becky in New Jersey.

Becky bounced into the kitchen one evening after work. “Chuck, we’re going to Kansas!”

“Where?” Cas asked before he could stop himself.

“Lawrence,” Becky answered. “I’m checking out this little place for Garth’s show. S’got a really cute story behind it: this guy bought it because that’s where he met the love of his life – only whoever it was had left him about a year before he bought the place. Apparently he figured that if they ever came back, they’d go there first.”

Chuck, who had apparently seen the look on Cas’s face, said, “Becky –“

“Isn’t that just so cute?” Becky barrelled on.

“What’s the restaurant called, Becky?” Cas asked.

“Oh, right, you used to live in Lawrence,” Becky said. “Maybe you know the place.”

“Becky,” repeated Chuck warningly.

“It’s called the Heaven Cafe,” continued Becky.

Cas let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding. “That’s where I met –“

“The owner’s a guy named Dean Winchester,” Becky finished.

“Dean,” finished Cas.

Chuck put his hand on his little brother’s shoulder. “I’ll be sure to check up on him for you, okay, Cassie?”

Cas nodded numbly.

A few months later, Cas was in Seattle and staying with their second youngest brother, Alfie. And their only sister, Naomi, had come up from LA to visit as well. Cas was reading in the guest room when Alfie came running upstairs, calling for him.

“Castiel! There’s a place in Lawrence on _Local Colour!_ ” Alfie shouted. “Maybe you’ll see someone you know!”

Cas followed his younger brother downstairs reluctantly. He sat down on the couch between Naomi and Alfie just in time to see the all too familiar face of Dean Winchester pop up on the screen, next to Garth Fitzgerald and a photo of _Cas_ of all people.

“I’ve been livin’ in town for years now,” Dean said, “and comin’ to Heaven just as long. And a few years back – goin’ on seven now – Gabriel, the baker, introduced me to this guy named Cas.” He gestured to the photo on the wall. “We met here, used to come here together all the time. He, ah, left almost two years ago. But I kept comin’ to Heaven, and when it went on sale the manager made sure I was the first to know. I’ve always kind of thought that if Cas ever found his way back into town, he’d come here first. So I’m not moving any time soon.”

Cas’s jaw dropped. “No way. He didn’t – he – I can’t believe –“

But the episode didn’t end there. Gabriel was still working as Heaven’s pastry chef, apparently. Dean’s half-brother had been hired as a waiter, along with a girl Cas had seen but never met, and _Nat Coulson_. Who actually talked in front of the cameras (after a quick chat with the other girl – Krissy, apparently – about not wanting/being able to talk in front of the cameras).

At that, Cas was both stunned and proud. And kind of surprised that Dean had hired her.

There were interviews with a lot of customers – mostly people who had been regulars before Cas had left Lawrence, and all people that he was at least familiar with.

The episode ended with a bit about Heaven’s weekly open mic nights (which had definitely been established by Dean) and a clip of Dean singing.

_“An’ maybe I’ll get famous as the man who can’t be moved,_

_Maybe you won’t mean to, but you’ll see me on the news,_

_An’ you’ll come runnin’ to the corner_

_‘cause you know it’s just for you...”_

Alfie turned off the TV.

“You’ve got to go back,” he said immediately.

“You _can’t_ ,” Naomi replied. “He hurt you, Castiel.”

“And I hurt him,” Cas pointed out. “But he... he still loves me.”

“Castiel,” Naomi began, with all signs pointing to the beginning of quite a long lecture on why he should not under any circumstances return to Lawrence, Kansas.

“Naomi, whether I go back is a decision I will make _on my own_ ,” Cas interrupted before she could launch into the argument. Alfie opened his mouth, but Cas held up a hand. “I don’t want to hear from _you_ , either, Alfred Samandriel.” He stood up. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to go to bed.”

Cas woke up the next morning to a missed call from Sam Winchester.

“ _Cas. Hi. It’s Sam – obviously it’s Sam. Your brother was in town a while ago, and Gabriel Milton recognised him. We didn’t tell Dean at the time, but we talked to him. He said you still used this number. And also that you were miserable. And I’d just like you to know that Dean is, too. He tries to pretend, and things have actually gotten a lot better since he bought Heaven, but he misses you a lot. We all do, actually. But he misses you most. No question. Anyway, the point is... you’re always welcome back in Lawrence. You know that, right? In fact, we’re all hoping you’ll come home sometime soon. ... See you around, Cas.”_

That settled it. Cas was going back to Lawrence.

He didn’t go back right away – Naomi tried very very hard to convince him not to go at all – but after a few weeks of dillydallying he couldn’t keep himself away any longer.

He walked in in the middle of a Thursday night ‘Heartbreak Night.’

Dean was singing.

Nat saw him first. “Hey, welcome to Heaven, can I –“ and then she dropped the plates she was carrying, recognition clear in her suddenly wide eyes.

Gabriel ran to help her clean up the broken china, but froze when he saw Cas.

“DEAN!” Nat called shakily.

Dean looked up. There was a pause, and then: “Cas?”

“Dean,” replied Cas.

Dean set down his guitar and approached him. “Cas, I am so, so sorry.”

“I know, Dean,” Cas answered. “So am I.”

That was when Cas’s feet started to work again. He closed the remaining distance between himself and Dean in a few steps and pulled him into a tight embrace.

The entire restaurant broke into applause.

“I missed you so much,” Cas said.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that I missed you, too,” replied Dean. And then he kissed Cas. In front of everyone.

Somewhere behind them, Gabriel cheered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more things:  
> 1\. Cas's family is as follows: Chuck, Naomi, Cas, Alfie, and Jesse (as in, the little anti-christ). I felt like shaking up the family organisation that I used for my SuperWhoLock college AU, and this is a family set I haven't seen before.  
> 2\. The implication in this chapter is that Dean cheated with Gabriel. That's because that's the conclusion Cas jumped to from the phrases "I've made a huge mistake," "I just got home from Gabriel's," and "I cheated on you, Cas." Dean didn't actually cheat WITH Gabriel - he slept on Gabriel's couch when he realised how badly he'd screwed up, because he didn't want to face Cas 'till he was sober. But Cas, who is as you've realised not entirely blameless in the whole thing, didn't hear him out.  
> That is all. Thanks for spending your valuable time reading this!


End file.
